Cadence
by ParlorGamesToMe
Summary: "The tesseract thought. Not in words, but in language-less rhythms, it thought." A story on the power of the tesseract over the minds of men.


The tesseract thought. Not in words, but in language-less rhythms, it thought. And oh, how it liked Loki- well, it liked the freedom that Loki so candidly offered, the power he gave without a single contemplation of facts. So much better to be free than to be confined in that dull wooden sepulcher it had been abandoned in for so long. Creatures like Loki, they brought the means to escape. In their wake, the tesseract could always find many more. So commonplace were they! Tyrants and monsters, a dime a dozen commodity, never a rarity in the hearts of men. No, Loki would not let the tesseract go- it was not in the god's crudely shaped being to do so. Soon, though, he would fall, and the tesseract would land in newer, crueler hands, the inevitable change. Eventually. Mud is mud is mud, all of them golems made from mud, shaped together to serve the same timeless master. Missions varied and armies fell, but the tesseract remained eternal.

After so many years of imprisonment, the open air pleased the tesseract. It hummed in contentment, throwing out beams of electric blue light. Freedom, what freedom, and without cost- for the tesseract, of course. Even after years gone by, it had not forgotten the luxury of liberty. The notion of captivity made the tesseract spit out a beam of light.

It waited for something to happen. The possibility of death illuminated the tesseract, and it droned a battle cry no one could decipher.

The tesseract pulsated, absorbing the sight before it. Though it had no eyes, it glimpsed the world through its servants' brilliant blue ones. More than enough to go around. So fragmented, the world streamed in through their limited vision. Men- they saw only what they desired, nothing more.

The tesseract bade its time, still and hushed. It crooned its commands, the music only those under its sway could hear. Hideously carved truths- or were they truths, the tesseract cared not- flowed from it, into the open air, waves picked up by its servants. Listen, the tesseract commanded them. And listen they did.

_Natasha will never love you, never want you. All these years, all out for herself, herself only, foolish boy. Only her- get in her way and you will finally understand why they call her Black Widow. It's all in her name; how much more idiotic can you be? Still, you have a chance to break her hold. To win, Clint. Don't you want to win? Kill her, Clint, kill her for me. Kill her, my dear, and you shall be free. And we shall be in harmony forever, harmony, beautiful, simple, unadulterated harmony. Do I not always have the best planned out for you? _

_ Follow me and you shall have power. You above all. They will kneel, yes, you will make them. Kneel they shall; they beg you wordlessly for suppression. Look in their eyes; you know it to be factual. They shall bow so easily, bow or you shall bend their brittle spines and contort them into compliance. Break them for me, cut them down, cut them all down. Thor and them and Thor and them and Thor. Yes, it will please me to see you triumph, my darling. I trust you not to fail me; I trust you, I trust you. Yes, believe me. Midgard, Asgard, Jotunheim, all of the realms supported by the resilient, sturdy Yggdrasil shall be soon clenched in your palm, if you follow my commands. And I know you shall, my most stalwart warrior._

_ Science! Ha! Science! Until me, you knew nothing of science; knew not of gods nor realms nor the linking of the fantastical and the realities. A big clumsy oaf, bumbling about, lumbering through concepts you couldn't possibly understand. Here, though, don't you see, Erik, things have changed. You know beyond knowing, see beyond seeing, hear beyond hearing- you have lifted the veil that even the most brilliant of men have not even conceived of, much less touched. You are more with me- more than man, more than scientist, more than being, you __**are**__ science. Living, breathing, walking, pure science. It no longer eludes you, with my beams wrapped around your newly nurtured mind. Together, we shall accomplish great things! Do you not wish to renowned, to be __**great**__?_

Yes, the Tesseract had become well practiced in the foolish desires of men. Simply stroke their egos and tap into their primitive core; all men want to be exalted. Play to that, it learned, and they shall follow you to the darkest, dankest caverns, smug smirks on their faces. Their acquiescence brought a sense of triumph to the tesseract, a sense of being, as if the tesseract could taste their warming blood. It almost felt like living.

_Howard, you will save the world! With me, we shall do extraordinary things. They will cry your name to the heavens. No man shall forget the heroic, skillful, illustrious Howard Stark! We shall bring about a world free of worries, free of strife, powered by your keen mind. Power- unlimited, clean power- for all, and none so much as you, their savior. You shall be written down in history books, preserved handsomely in films, drawn in magnificent pictures, the founder of a legacy that I will ensure lasts forever. Howard, what wondrous things you will do with me. _

_ Nick Fury, yes, oh I know you. Man of might, man of power, man of action- steadfast, constant, and ever so dangerous. You long to be eminent; I can help you accomplish that. A world under your hand, a world controlled and maintained by a man so impressive, so commendable. Yes, we can achieve that. Soon, they will truly understand what a hero you are. You will bring back the ideals the world has long lacked, and they shall praise you for it- or, at least, they would if they understood what you had done. Lurk in the shadows you will, but they will be shadows untainted by darkness, if that makes sense. Of course it does- you understand me. Now put me down, Fury, yes, like that. Let me out of the briefcase; good, good. We have work to do._

_ Red Skull, you are far more advanced than other men- so much that I cannot consider you __**merely**__ a man. Like me, you have expanded the limits of perception, of being. We are alike. Yes, very alike. Take me with you, take me from this dreary prison, yes. You can hear me, wonderful. The snake, the snake hides me from you. Steal me away from this place. Excellent, yes, excellent. I have been incarcerated, waiting for you. Such things we have to do together, so marvelous. You shall be known forever, preserved among the stars, not a man, never as pitiful as a man. We shall forge glorious weapons. I am ready to lead you onto your path to dominance. You have deserved to tread that path for so very long. It is a pity that no one else has offered you the knowledge, the tools that I now extend to you, my lovely. Soon they shall see, they shall all see, and fear will pursue swiftly. I bear unprecedented gifts for you, only you. Will you accept them? Yes, for you, only you, if you dare accept. I am ready to take my inevitable place at your side as we rain down chaos, for we justify the authority. Your supremacy shall follow. That I pledge, my liberator._

Men had always been uncomplicated creatures. So straightforward in their desires, all of them monotonously the same. To be wanted, to be feared, to be superlative; such greedy aspirations in the scheme of affairs, as if men are not interchangeable, petulant things, mewling to be noticed.

The tesseract exuded a vibe of something- jubilance, sinister reckoning, triumph, fortitude, serenity, **something**; it did not translate to the people working mindlessly below. It never did.


End file.
